Experiencing Earth's Seasons
by DaemonicKitten
Summary: Optimus finds himself a secure little place to sit back and lose himself in thought. Incidentally, it's also a wonderful place to observe Earth's natural beauty. ONE-SHOT. COMPLETE.


**Disclaimer** : I don't own it.

**Note**: I was reading 'If an Autobot, do NOT do the following, part 2' where Hound mentioned he loved earth's wild weather, and it got me thinking to the beauty of our own planet. This idea just sprung to mind.

**NOTE** : I realize a lot of what I'll be describing might not be found in the States, but I'm from Canada, and I'm writing things I've experienced and seen here, so... Deal with it. XD

**Summary**: Optimus finds himself a secure little place to sit back and lose himself in thought. Incidentally, it's also a wonderful place to observe Earth's natural beauty. ONE-SHOT. COMPLETE.

**Legend** :

"Speaking"

_Thoughts_

_"Cybertronian"_

_**'Messages'**_

**(Scene/POV Changes)**

* * *

**(Spring)**

The road was soft and muddy, covering his massive tires in thick, uncomfortable layers of wet sand. Pebbles got caught in the tread, and on more than one occasion he found himself spinning his tires, coating his undercarriage as he struggled over a steep slope. In the end, however, he found himself at his usual spot.

The barren trees broke way, their green spotted branches shoving flexibly past his armored frame as he came to a stop at the crest of the cliff, transforming and looking down over the scene before. Optics brightened as he zoomed in, watching the scene with great fascination.

_If there was ever a need for peace, this is it._

Another battle, and many of his troops had come away damaged. They'd won, thank Primus, but very nearly lost two of the femmes, and Ironhide was in fairly critical condition still. The Decepticons had been all but eradicated, but few managed to flee, meaning there would be a later battle, a later chance for more to be damaged.

Sighing, Optimus allowed the scene before him to wipe all thoughts of battle out of his mind.

Trees were spotted with green, such an unusual look, until you got closer. Tiny bright bulbs formed, some slowly splitting open to reveal healthy green leaves. The ground was littered with decaying browns and reds of fallen leaves of the year before, but even they did little to hide the long green stems of grass and some wildflowers before their bloom.

Ducks floated across a calm lake surface, even as a deer drank at a distant edge, two tiny fawns on her one side. Branches crackled as bears slid out of their caves, and in places water dripped, as the last of the snow melted away.

The scene before him was of a planet just waking. New life was forming, even in a land that could be considered, to some, unforgivably barren. Lively green shone in Optimus' optics as he looked around, marvelling in the world preparing for another year, and he smiled faintly at the innocence of it all.

They'd chosen well. This was definitely a planet worth protecting.

**(Summer)**

A low gunning engine sounded as the massive semi climbed the dry hill. He once again scanned the area behind him to make sure he hadn't been followed, then allowed himself to transform. Once again he found himself looking over the same cliff. However, instead of appearing to be a barren land coming to surprising life, he found himself staring with wide optics.

Brilliant yellows and reds lit up the forest line around the lake where a multitude of wildflowers were in various stages of bloom. Black-eyed Susans spread their pedals wide, soaking up the hot sun, even as tall orange and yellow lilies tilted slightly, casting shadows over the shorter flowers. The stems were varying shades of bright green, reflecting the sun brightly, and the lake rippled with the cool breeze, bringing the scent of the wildflowers to him.

The faint hum of hummingbirds hovering over different flowers, tasting them and darting about caught his optics. The greens and reds of the tiny birds rather fetching. Then he found himself drawn to the human children, swimming obliviously below him in the lake, and he crouched down, hiding his massive bulk a little. He watched one little girl swim over to a small white flower floating weightlessly on the water's surface, and then spotted the plant jerk, before the girl swam back to the shore of the lake, where she gave the flower to her mother.

Realizing that hunkering down wouldn't help him much, Optimus transformed back, before forming his holoform and climbing out of his cab to sit on the hood. He watched hawks flying high in the air, marvelling at their ease and grace as they completed a complex dance, before taking off. Chick-a-dees chirped, woodpeckers knocked on the trunks of trees...

There were even musical song birds who sounded a lot like the tune one of Mikeala's music boxes created, whenever she opened it. Vaguely, Optimus thought about bringing the femme and her mate here, knowing they would enjoy it as much as he would.

He sat there on the cliff, watching the humans play in the water until the left, and then he stayed there, watching the tiny ripples as the breeze continued to caress the lake surface and make the flowers dance back and forth. In fact, he lost himself in the sheer quiet peace of the place, until he realized everything had been cast in strange hues or orange and red.

Glancing up, his holo-eyes widened to see the varying colors of the sky as the sun slowly lowered beyond the distant horizon. Ranges, reds, pinks, yellows and even a few shades of purple all seemed to bleed into each other, making the sky look like it was ablaze. The ferocity of the colors took his breath away, and he could only stare, mesmerized at the sight before him.

Even then, once the sun had set, he found himself staring at the stars in the sky, really considering the option of bringing his human friends there.

**(Autumn)**

The day had been quiet.

After so many battles, the thing he feared most finally came to be. They lost good bots. They won the battle, but they still lost. Arcee and Chromia had taken fatal blasts in attempting to locate and protect Sam, all because of him. They were gone, as was Jazz, though _he'd_ died two years ago. The pain ate at him, even as he drove along the rain-slicked hills of the dusty back road.

Everything was somber and grim today. Earlier the sun had been out, but now the sky was filled with dark grey clouds, so dark, it was hard to believe it was only late afternoon. He didn't even bother to transform, instead choosing to once again lay on the hood of his alternate form, in his holoform, allowing the water to 'drench' him the best it could.

Unfortunately, even with is receptors at full, the sensation of the icy water pouring over his face, running through his hair, and falling down over his form, all seemed muted to how the humans described. Opening bright blue eyes, he stared down at the familiar scene below him, relaxing against the faux glass windshield as he took in the constantly rippling of the water, whenever a raindrop hit the surface of the lake.

He could hear the rain hitting the leaves of the trees, rushing down to drip onto the ground below. The bright fire reds, sunny yellows, and even vibrant purples of the leaves stood out in stark contrast to the dark sky, almost glowing with their inner life as leaves cupped upward, collecting the vital nutrients in the rain. Though he knew it was an effect common to this time of the year, and had to do more with chlorophyll and photosynthesis than anything, but it was a remarkable sight.

Sighing internally, he connected to Sam's cell phone, sending him a text message.

_**'You were right. The colors truly are magnificent this time of year. Thank you, Sam'**_

He readily admit he was thanking the boy for far more than simply suggesting he head out and see the 'colors' of 'Fall'. Closing his eyes, Optimus ran over internal reports, where his soldiers showed him the battle he'd missed while being stuck in the Matrix. He almost hesitated in seeing Ironhide's own firsthand experience, watching one femme get blasted in the spark chamber, and another in the head, but he forced himself to review those as well.

_"Honorable warriors, know that your sacrifices were not in vain."_ He didn't bother to hide his true voice as he prayed. _"The boy succeeded, bringing me back, and I was triumphant against the fallen, once again saving Earth from certain doom. I could not have done so without your strength. Know that you will never be forgotten."_

His spark sang softly, aching for the loss of even more femmes, and worse off, his own troops and friends. As he turned his eyes skyward, listening to the sounds of the rain, a small, sad smile crossed his face as a rather human thought hit him then.

_The Earth grieves as well._

**(Winter)**

Optimus stared down over the sight before him, a little torn. On one hand, the constant white, cold and barren look of the land was far from flattering. He could admit to understanding the animosity some humans felt for this season, shivering and turning up his internal heaters as the cold bit at his metallic frame. Not even human children came down to the lake at this time of year, in this weather.

_Really need to...'look'?_

He tilted his head, crouching low as his optics scanned the scene before him. He took Mikeala's words to spark, attempting to see the beauty she saw in this season. It was 'masked' according to the humans more content with the blustery winds and low temperatures. A very foreign concept, as he couldn't understand how a season could be masked.

Squinting slightly, his optics danced over a snow covered tree, pausing and then scanning it again. He picked up how the snow stuck to every inch of the left side of the tree, coating it in glistening white that glittered in the sun, almost making the tree appear to be made, at least partially, of crystal. Then his audio processors picked up the sound of a distant waterfall, and his optics zoomed in on it, just a little distance past the lake.

Icicles hung over the rushing water, like dozens of sharp, shining teeth over the water below. He watched as the water would hit them, and some facets would sparkle with a rainbow of colors. Even as the water rushed against the slightly warmer temperature of the air, creating a mist that hovered over the area almost mysteriously.

The sound of a branch breaking caught his attention, and he found himself turning. There, two humans crunched through the snow, dressed heavily, but laughing as they rushed towards the lake ahead of them, already heavily frozen over with ice. Once they reached it's edge, he easily made out the familiar forms as they each dropped a pair of ice skates, switching their boots for the sharp blades, before sliding out over the lake.

He smiled warmly, watching as Sam stayed a few feet behind Mikeala, and laughed as she turned, speeding into her mate and kissing him deeply, before spinning him around and leading him across the ice.

_The beauty..._

He once again glanced at the snow covered trees that glittered like a land of crystalline plants. The icicles quivered over the distant falls, the rainbow having risen from the crystals to the mist over the rushing waters below. Then he turned to the humans, sliding across the ice carefree and happy.

_I finally see it._

**(Bonus Scene)**

As he glanced down at the humans below, Optimus smiled.

Sam held Mikeala close, the humans returning the smile, even as they looked out over the bright red sunset, their breaths puffing in the chilly air. "So, what did you wanna show us?"

"You have helped me gather a higher appreciation for Earth's 'seasons', so I thought I would show you a cherished memory of Cybertron." Looking up, Optimus tapped a receptor at the side of his helmet, activating a holographic projector, even as his processors ran over a pre-recorded image of utter beauty that he always kept with him.

Before them, the cliff and the lake below all seemed to fade. Instead, Sam and Mikeala found themselves standing on a massive plain, the ground below them made of shiny metal. A large lake of green liquid, presumably some variant of energon, lay before them, reflecting the numerous stars in the sky. Looking up, they gasped, seeing not double, but at least triple the stars they normally saw, and when they looked behind them, they found a towering building blocking out a portion of the huge moon.

"Whoa!" Sam gasped, tightening his hold on Mikeala. "It's like you can reach out and touch it."

Mikeala only nodded, her eyes taking in everything around them in awe.

Optimus smiled, a tad sadly, as he too took in the sight. It was one aspect of Cybertron he missed, the native beauty he'd learned to love long ago. Instead, he watched the reactions of his humans.

"It's...beautiful." Mikeala's eyes sparkled with the reflection of the stars, as she looked up, and when she glanced over, she could see the reflection of the moon in Sam's eyes, even as his own face was bathed in an almost ethereal glow. "Beautiful."

His own eyes tore away from the scene before him, to take in the glow in the face of the woman before him. "I agree." He leaned in and kissed her passionately, before pulling back, resting his forehead against the side of her head, before looking up at Optimus. "Thank you."

"No Sam, thank _you_." Allowing the image to fade, Optimus' optics brightened as he and the humans turned to the dancing of the Northern Lights in the sky above. The greens and blues writhed back and forth across the sky, and the Autobot leader smiled. _Thank you._

* * *

**Note**: I know next to NOTHING about Cybertron, so please understand that this is PURELY fan made. If I remember correctly from the cartoons, they lived on a metallic sphere with no weather, that I know of...

Ok, so that was totally random and...sappy? XD Hope you liked it, I was feeling like attempting something different from my usual humor fics. XD

Hope you like it.

R+R Please

Thank you

Tenshi


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